An engineering business has won its case against HMRC after it disputed the legality of official guidance on a flat-rate VAT scheme for small businesses and refused to pay a VAT bill of nearly £9,000

Caravan owners can take some relief from the latest ruling by the Upper Tribunal (UT) which has allowed part of an appeal by HMRC against a First Tier Tribunal (FTT) decision on how to decide the VAT rate applicable to sales of static caravans, saying the FTT was wrong to state that the ‘removable contents’ of a caravan should be zero-rated

The latest tax news, including the decision in Shop Direct Group v Revenue & Customs ([2014] EWCA Civ 255), comment on Budget pension changes, Ex MFI owner HJ Group part wins £183m expenses of management case, and a solicitior is refused anonymity over SDLT penalty

The latest news on VAT including cashback payments from manufacturers, the decision on compound interest in Littlewoods Retail Ltd & Ors v HM Revenue & Customs [2014] and comment on multiple versus composite supply in the building trade in FTT case Envoygate (Installations) Limited (TC03361) 

An Essex accountant who claimed £340,000 in fraudulent VAT repayments has been jailed for four years and three months following an HMRC investigation

HMRC is likely to bring forward plans to extend the UK’s domestic VAT reverse charge rules to cover energy supplies from the EU, after investigations into suspected cases of alleged VAT fraud in the wholesale gas and electricity energy markets have suggested there is a significant shortfall in receipts

An attempt by BT to reclaim a refund of £62.5m on VAT dating back more than 20 years has failed after a Court of Appeal ruling which said the claim had been made too late and the telecoms company was outside the time limits

HMRC is organising a VAT place of supply of services and VAT Mini One Stop Shop (MOSS) event in London on 2 June 2014 for businesses affected by the reporting changes being introduced on 1 January 2015.

HMRC has issued a revised Notice 700/56: Insolvency (April 2014). The notice explains the basic principles of HMRC’s treatment of insolvent businesses and the procedures which insolvency practitioners are asked to follow when dealing with HMRC.

HMRC has seen a 51% rise in additional VAT take over the last twelve months following a major campaign to crackdown on VAT abuse, according to research by tax investigation insurance specialists P2P.

Five men who were directors of five Liverpool based companies have been disqualified for a total of 33 years for their part in a £3.5m VAT scam on the sale of imported vehicles and for failing to maintain accounting records or exercise proper control over the companies.